La Grande dates to 1861, and 32% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 83% of U.S. towns · #6 of 142 in Oregon. What drives it
11 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 56 buildings. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1884 on, and the census since 1870.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1863.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives La Grande’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, La Grande is more historic than 83% of U.S. towns, #6 of 142 in Oregon. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of La Grande’s overall grade.
Oregon towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Oregon town has 2.9 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so La Grande’s 51.3 sits above most of its state (91% of Oregon towns have fewer) while its 67 historic buildings outnumber those of 87% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.7 points). Two sources give 1861.
Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about La Grande’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Every building
La Grande, building by building, 1884–1910
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
1884Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Originally named "Brownsville," it was forced to change its name because that name was being used for a city in Linn County. Located in the Grande Ronde Valley, the city's name comes from an early French settler, Charles Dause, who often used the phrase "La Grande" to describe the area's beauty. The population was 13,082 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Union County. La Grande lies east of the Blue Mountains and southeast of Pendleton.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds
La Grande’s post office has been open since 1863. Another post office, Orodell, opened and closed inside today’s town.
La Grande
1863–today
Orodell
1867–1878
18601940today
Gone or out of use
OrodelllocaleOrodell Post Officepost officeRiveria SchoolschoolWillow Elementary Schoolschool
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside La Grande
CalvaryHillcrest
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about La Grande’s history
What year was La Grande founded?
In 1861, according to Wikidata. La Grande’s post office opened in 1863, and the census of 1870 counted 240 people here.
How does La Grande rank for history?
La Grande is more historic than 83% of U.S. towns, #6 of 142 in Oregon. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in La Grande?
11 listings: 10 buildings, among them the U.S. Post Office and Federal Building (listed 1979, the first), and 1 historic district, the La Grande Commercial Historic District, with 56 contributing buildings. 67 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in La Grande?
32% of La Grande’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.7 points), against a typical 5.3% for an Oregon town; the median home was built in 1966.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikimedia Commons (2), Wikidata (4), the National Register of Historic Places (11), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
1895
